Chaplains comfort families after Marine helicopter crash

Chaplains comfort families after Marine crash

By ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

CAMP PENDLETON – Within hours of Wednesday's nighttime midair collision between two Marine Corps helicopters over a remote section of the California desert, chaplains gathered — dress uniforms in hand — to give news to the families and to provide spiritual support to fellow Marines.

The crash which happened at 8:45 p.m. killed seven Marines. Two were aboard an AH-1W Cobra and the rest were in a UH-1 Huey utility helicopter when the crash occurred near the Chocolate Mountains along the California-Arizona border. Six Marines were stationed at Camp Pendleton and were part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, one Marine was from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

In the minutes and hours after the collision, word spread quickly. Many in the Air Wing knew there was something wrong and chaplains and Casualty Assistance Call Officers or CACO's — specially trained Marines who work as liaisons between military and families — worked quickly to begin notification of the next of kin.

"This is a dynamic, very tight-knit wing," said U.S. Navy Capt. Irving Elson, the Aircraft Wing's senior chaplain. The tragedy didn't just happen to the squadron, it happened to the Marine Corps, it happened to the nation and it happened to us."
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Midair helicopter collision kills 7 Marines